Recapture and Recollect
by Holdumst i hendur
Summary: Hogwarts 1977. The Ministry develops the Wizard Protection Program after targeted attacks on the families of Muggle Borns; a service where minds are erased of all magical knowledge and people are given new identities to hide them from Voldemort. L/J. AU.


**Title: Recapture and Recollect or The Wizard Protection Program**

**Author: ****Holdumst i hendur**

**Rating: T**

**Summary**: Hogwarts, 1977. After the Ministry receives reports that Voldemort is targeting the families of Muggle Born witches and wizards, they develop the Wizard Protection Program; a service where minds are wiped of all knowledge of magic and families are sent away with new identities to make a fresh start away from the dangers of the Wizarding War. AU.

A/N: Well, hello. I'll keep this brief, because I hate long author's notes that take up half the word count; I've been writing fanfiction for a couple of years now on various sites, but this is my first Marauders Era Harry Potter. However, I do roleplay as Lily on Tumblr, so hopefully I have some idea of what I'm doing! I ran this past the other players in the RP before posting it here, and their reaction was positive, although that may just have been because they're scared of me. Who knows? Please drop a review, whether you liked it, hated it, whatever, because I'm quite proud of this story and hopefully you'll all enjoy it (she says optimistically to the four readers who happen to click on her story).

It all started when she found Mary MacDonald curled up in the middle of the dorm, clutching a sheet of parchment and bawling her eyes out so hard her face and turned red and blotchy.

Actually, no. It all started when a gasping first year burst into seventh year Transfiguration class on a misty October morning, claiming Professor Dumbledore wanted to see Miss MacDonald from Gryffindor. The Marauders set off the childish, accusatory 'oooh' that the rest of the class picked up until Mary, flushed red and laughing at their antics, had left.

She didn't come back to the lesson. In fact, she didn't come back for the rest of the day, absent at lunch and dinner as well as all her classes.

It wasn't until Lily went up to grab a fresh quill from her dorm that the rumours of Mary being thrown to the Giant Squid as punishment for the rather unfortunate explosion she created during Potions the other day (rumours started by Black, of course, who was rather miffed Mary had turned him down as a date to Hogsmeade) were proven wrong.

As a matter of fact, it had _really_ all started when the Minister of Magic received an owl reporting the fifth Muggle murder of the month; Rupert and Jane MacDonald had been killed, along with their son Thomas, in their home in Scotland. All investigations pointed towards the Killing Curse.

The past deaths had few connections – the victims didn't know each other, didn't live in the same area or have the same occupation. In fact, they were completely random, scattered across the country as though Voldemort had closed his eyes and picked a spot to wreak havoc. The only thing they all seemed to have in common was a member of their family with magical blood.

But, then again, everything _really_ kicked off the next day.

"Morning, Evans," Cocky smirk permanently in place, James Potter slid onto the bench opposite Lily, who returned his greeting with a look so sour, he almost winced. He affectionately mimicked the eye roll that followed and smiled warmly at her, cradling his chin on his fist and narrowly avoiding putting his elbow in the butter. "Come on, now, why so glum?"

Lily speared some scrambled egg a little harder than necessary.

James' eyebrows quirked up slightly at the violent gesture, idly wondering whether she was imagining her breakfast was his head or his chest. Maybe she was alternating between the two, probably throwing in a nice image of his stomach too, as she stabbed moodily at her toast.

"You know you're meant to eat that?" He asked after a moment of watching her flatten tomatoes under her fork. The glare she gave him was so dark he actually lifted his hands in surrender, leaning back in his chair slightly, just in case she decided the imaginary James on her plate wasn't good enough and she wanted a jab at the real thing. Lily returned to destroying her food, not catching his mutter of 'Moony has nothing on this time of the month'.

"Evans." The prongs of her fork went all the way through her eggs and pointedly hit the plate below. James winced, but pushed on. "Come on, Evans, what's up?"

She glanced up at him again, probably ready to deliver the lashing insult on the tip of her tongue. Sometime in April or May of sixth year, the dynamic between them had changed, subtly at first; instead of snapping his head off when he complimented her bum, she simply rolled her eyes and kept on walking. After a while, she didn't seem to mind so much that he checked her out as she passed by. One time she even blushed. Of course, she still called him a prat and a toerag and claimed to loathe him and his friends (with the exception of Remus, but that was because they were Prefects together), and he still attempted asking her out every time she paused for breath between insults, but everything was much more playful, like she didn't actually mean it when she said she wouldn't go out with him, even if he was the last guy on Earth other than Thorfin Rowle, the hulking Slytherin beater. It wasn't exactly 'buddies' but they were amicable around each other.

When seventh year dawned, and they discovered they would be paired up as Head Boy and Girl, the 'acquaintance' zone turned into the 'friend' zone and James found himself stuck fast being the friend of Lily Evans. She moaned about the girls and he cheered her up with stories of the boys; he still wanted to date her, but announced it less frequently, tried not to go green with jealousy when she saw other guys and made an effort to do everything he could to show her how he had matured over Summer. That being said, the old Potter-Evans banter was still firmly in place, his smarmy pick-ups knocked down flat by her biting retorts, referring to each other by last name the whole time.

Lily's mouth opened – and what a lovely mouth it was – but before she could say anything, the ringing sound of a fork hitting glass cut through the breakfast chatter, causing the hall to fall silent and turn to the teacher's table.

Albus Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet, raising his hands to the students before him. "I would firstly like to apologise for being the bearer of such dark and troubling news so early in the day," He began, his eyes running over every table in an effort to make all students feel as though he was talking directly to them. James noticed Lily's grip tighten on her fork slightly. "But in times as these, we must all be aware of what is surrounding us. As some of you may know, a student of Hogwarts was recently told her family lost their lives tragically to Voldemort."

A collective gasp rippled through the students at the mention of his name; even a few of the teachers looked a little shaken at Dumbledore's forwardness.

"Yes, yes, it's all very, so very unfortunate…" Dumbledore hushed the crowd, drawing the attention back to himself. "In light of this regrettable event, along with many others similar to it, the Ministry has set up a scheme; a wizard protection program, if you would." The hall remained silent as everyone waited to hear more; if Lily squeezed her fork any tighter, it would surely snap. "All children from Muggle families are to be given the opportunity to protect them; the Ministry are offering a fresh start, a new identity for all Muggle Born students and their families."

James glanced at Lily, who had gone as white as a sheet. His hand moved of its own accord and covered hers, the tightly balled up fist relaxing slightly under his touch.

"Many of you may be wondering how this is possible," Dumbledore continued, his voice echoing throughout the hall. "It is a most unfortunate, temporary solution, but it is a solution nonetheless, one I think many of you shall find scary, but perhaps comforting; the Ministry are willing to wipe all knowledge of magic from the minds of Muggle Born witches and wizards and their families." Dumbledore paused as though expecting a reaction, a gasp of horror or fear, but none came. "The Ministry will modify the memories of all persons involved so they believe themselves to be a different person, so different that Voldemort will have no way of tracing you; all records of your existence in the wizarding world will be gone. There will be nothing to put you in harm's way." Again he paused, but it seemed as though the entire castle had fallen into a stunned silence.

Most students had some idea of what was going on outside the safety of Hogwarts, particularly the Pure Blood children whose families were choosing sides. They heard of the deaths over the radio, gruesome accounts of killing curses and torture by You-Know-Who and his followers' hands. But no one, not even James or Sirius who lived with families actively involved in the war, could actually imagine it had got to this level.

"Of course, after the war has ended, your memories will be restored and your education resumed," Dumbledore resumed, his voice still steady and calm throughout his speech. "If anyone requires more information, feel free to see me or write to the Ministry." He nodded to each table in turn. "Please, carry on."

He sat down and the hum of chapter slowly grew across the hall, hesitant as people tried to bring up the subject of the protection service in a casual manner or find new topics that wouldn't make things to awkward. Most failed.

Lily's hand slipping out from underneath James' caused him to look at her; if she had been pale earlier, she was almost translucent now, her hands shaking a little as she resumed messing with her breakfast, a lot slower than before. She felt his eyes on her, her gaze flickering up to meet his, then straight back down again. Oh, Merlin, she couldn't be considering it, could she? Surely not. She was Lily Evans, one of the smartest witches Hogwarts had to offer; she was a frontline soldier, a Ministry agent in the making, not a girl who would slink off to the sidelines.

"Lil-"

"I have to go." She said hurriedly before he even got the second syllable of her name out. She dropped her fork – it clattered off the plate and dropped to the floor, but she didn't stop to pick it up – swinging her leg over the bench, getting up and leaving the hall as fast as she could. James watched her go, mouth still paused to say the 'y' of her name.

She couldn't possibly do it, because if she did, all the little things that made her Lily Evans, little things he had learnt about her for the last six years, building up over time, adding to the list in his head of everything he adored about her, every little goddamn thing would be gone. All of it. Like how she couldn't sing for toffee (discovered when he accidentally walked into the Prefects bathroom during a shower where she performed a rather sharp rendition of Elton John's 'Your Song' to the empty toilet stalls and he quickly backed out before she noticed him and hexed his arse off), but she could whistle any Beatles song, note for note (because she did it on evening patrols as it ensured there was no silence he could fill by asking her out for the hundred and third time that week). He couldn't even begin to think about a world where Lily Evans didn't tug on the end of her hair when she was concentrating, or nervously chew the nail of her thumb, but none of her fingers.

He looked at the mess of her breakfast and decided there was no way in hell he was going to let her leave.

Two weeks later, she'd managed to do everything in her power to not talk to him. He figured she'd had plenty of practice from years 1 through six to perfect the art of Avoiding James Potter, but this was ridiculous. She was last in and first out of any lessons, cutting of any chances of him catching her before or after a class; she went to breakfast early and her friend Emmeline had apparently been taking dinner to her because she was 'so busy doing extra work and everything'. Nevertheless, if there was one thing James Potter was particularly good at (albeit not particularly proud of), it was following Lily Evans and he finally managed to corner her in the last dying days of October.

"Evans, I-"

"Don't start, Potter; I've already had Remus ask me not to and Marlene is practically hanging on to my legs every time I'm in a twenty metre radius of her," Lily didn't even glance up from her essay, the rhythm of her quill never stalling. They were in the library, studying; well, she was studying. James was watching her study, trying to imagine like she wasn't there, which was far too difficult, because if she wasn't there, he probably wouldn't be either, since he usually avoided the library like a plague and only came in to bother her. "Besides, it's no business of yours what I decide to do."

"And have you decided?" James flipped open his textbook half-heartedly, making an attempt to feign the nonchalance she was treating the subject with. It seemed to be working, because she kept writing; he saw the little dent appear between her eyebrows though, the mark that showed she was having an argument in her own head. He knew the look well from the month and a half they'd spent as Head Boy and Girl together. It was the expression that graced her face every time she had to punish someone she was friends with, or had to decide whether or not to agree with James when it came to setting detentions. The face she pulled when she wasn't sure she could trust her own judgement.

"Perhaps," She answered after a few moments, during which he pretended to read up on the properties of the sopophorous bean. She was acting so normal, like this was an everyday conversation on the weather or how wonderful last night's pumpkin pie had been. However, the scratching of her quill had stopped, so he knew he had her full attention.

"If it makes any difference-"

"It won't."

"If it makes any difference," He repeated, ignoring her interruption. "We'd need you."

Lily rolled her eyes, shoving awkward strands of red hair out of her face so she could fix him with a glare. "Do you really think, Potter, that now is a good time to ask me out?"

Despite himself, and the panic that he was going to lose Lily Evans and her terrible singing and freakily accurate whistling, James snorted. "Bit self-absorbed there, Evans; I meant we'd need you for the war. To fight. You're a good witch." Her face had softened slightly, cheeks even turning slightly pink at his compliment and creating the most lovely clash with her hair. "I just think, for someone as talented as you, who could more than hold her own in a fight, that… that _running away _would be a bit… a bit…"

"Cowardly?" Lily's voice had turned incredulous, her expression clouding over dangerously. "Are you calling me a coward?" She accused, folding her arms on top of the table and narrowing her eyes.

"I- what? No!" James caught himself, running a hand through his hair, nervous of saying the wrong thing. "It's just…"

"Cowardly." Lily answered immediately. "You were calling me a coward."

James sighed, fingers tightening round the curls on his head as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. "I guess," He agreed reluctantly. "But… Merlin, it's true, Evans! Going into hiding like you're scared of him-"

"I am!" Lily stood up suddenly, her chair skittering back across the flagstone floor. "Jesus, Potter, I'm fucking terrified!" She slammed her hands onto the table, glaring down at him. Her eyes flashed with anger, but hovering anxiously behind it in the green pools was fear. "You don't know what it's like! Worrying that any minute, Dumbledore is going to send for you and tell you that your parents, your sister, have all been killed! That they're dead, that you're never going to see them again, never going to hear them call your name or hug you when you're upset, all because one bastard has decided that one blood type is worse than the other!" She shouted at him, getting more and more worked up by the second. They'd attracted quite an audience now and in the few moments opening she gave him, James stood up too, reaching over to put a hand on her shoulder and gently push her back into her chair. Lily pressed her palms to her eyes, breathing hitching every now and then in her attempt not to cry, as James made his way round the table to sit in the chair next to hers. He hesitantly patted her back, but she shrugged him off sharply, raising her head and sniffing.

"You weren't there," She said, and her voice came out low and bitter. "You weren't there yesterday, you weren't there when I found her." 'Her' being Mary, who had been absent all day; James found out from her best friend Gladys that she'd gone home to help arrange her family's funeral. "You didn't see… The look on her face…" Lily wavered a little. "Is it cowardly to want to keep your family alive?" She asked him, but the dark demanding tone was gone. Her eyes flickered up to meet James' and he found himself lost for words.

"I don't…" He turned his head slightly, unable to concentrate with her gaze on him. "Why do you have to go? Why can't it just be your family?"

Lily shook her head. "They could trace my family through me."

James looked back at her, her red hair and green eyes and sweet mouth. "So what are you going to do?"

"I already spoke to my family…" Lily trailed off, picking up her quill and rolling it between her fingers.

James perked up slightly; he'd never met the Evans', but if they could create something as wonderful as Lily, they must be smart people. "And what did they say?" He asked, trying to sound casual and not like he was prompting her to say what he wanted to hear, mentally reminding himself not to get his hopes up.

Lily shook her head. "They don't want me to."

James sighed in relief, opening his mouth to-

"I'm going to anyway, though." Lily continued and James felt the world come crashing down on him. "I'm meeting Dumbledore to discuss everything later." She looked up at him, taking in his forlorn expression that he wasn't even aware he was wearing. "They're my family," She said, helplessly.

James watched her a moment more, then nodded briskly, grabbing his textbook and pulling it towards him. He could feel her gaze on the side of his face, but attempted to ignore it, trying to focus on the page in front of him; the words kept going fuzzy and swimming around the page, refusing to stay still and let his brain take the information in. It didn't help that the only thing his mind would actually register was the fact Lily was leaving. It was selfish, so selfish of him to want her to stay when she was giving up her friends, her education, her _life,_ to try keep her family safe. But it was still there, gnawing at what little heart he had left from all the put-downs and rejections from her that had shattered it over the years.

They worked silently next to each other, tension thick, for the next half an hour, before Lily straightened up, closing her book.

"I have to go," She announced softly. James nodded, his eyes never leaving the page. Her hand was suddenly on his arm and it was like everything on that side of his body suddenly went numb at her touch. He swallowed and looked up at her. "I'll make a deal with you, Potter," Her eyes were soft, just like her fingers on his skin and he wanted to gather her up in his arms and never let her go. "I'm going to do this.." The corner of her mouth quirked up in a half-hearted smile. "What do you say?"

James shrugged, not trusting his voice, and the barely there smile dropped from her lips. She turned away from him, gathering up her book and her essay – the essay she'd probably never even hand in – and clutching them to her chest protectively. James heard the scrape of her chair as she pushed it back, the click of her shoes across the stone floor as she walked round him. Suddenly, she bent down to brush her lips lightly across his cheek, so lightly he could've imagined it, probably did imagine it. By the time he looked up, all he saw was her back, red curls tumbling down against her black robes like a waterfall, before she disappeared round the corner.

The next day, Lily Evans was gone and James Potter was certain he was never going to see her again because this war was _never_ going to be over.

**Comments and constructive criticism is always wanted/appreciated. Apologies if this chapter went a bit too fast; it's just to set up the rest of the story and I was in a bit of a rush to get it out of the way.**


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